


Loss of Green

by Canadiantardis



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s01e05 Tears of the Balmera, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Hostage Situations, Male Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Rescue, Violence, forced outing (sort of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-16 09:51:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14162199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: Imagine Lance never woke up to shoot Sendak during the invasion into the Castle of Lions. Sendak realizes he may have lost the fight, but as he takes Pidge hostage to escape, he may not have lost the war. The Paladins of Voltron lose their Green Lion pilot.How will the team go on to save Pidge, and what happens to her while she is a prisoner?Part ofPidge Big Bang





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Art done by: [ Tear](https://tear22voltronshipping.tumblr.com/)  
> [ Sishiro](http://shiroikumo.tumblr.com/)  
> Beta: [ Hawkeye](https://radiantcerulean.tumblr.com/)

Pidge yelled in shock, her face pinched as she was suddenly pulled away from Shiro, legs dangling as a large prosthetic hand held her in the air in a crushing grip.

The Galra that held her in his grasp sounded like he was gloating, but Pidge paid no attention. All her concentration was on trying to break free of his grasp, but nothing was working. Keith and the Princess ran into the room, stopping in front of them, Keith’s bayard-sword held at the ready, but with his eyes on her, the Green Paladin knew he wasn’t going to attack the Galra. She wanted to yell at him to just do it, she’d be okay, but who knew what the enemy would do.

“Stand back.” Sendak commanded, holding her between Keith and him like some meat shield, readjusting his grip. The dagger-like nails pushed her armour painfully into her chest, causing her to cry out, wiggling in an attempt to move the chest plate.

“Pidge! Let go of him!” Keith shouted, his knees bending into a familiar stance Pidge saw normally in training.

“I can easily crush the little whelp if you try anything, Paladin.” Sendak growled. He looked between the humans and the Altean princess before he walked forwards, towards them and making the Red Paladin and the Princess step back. “If you don’t want this child’s death on your hands, I would suggest you don’t follow.”

Pidge felt her heartrate spike, and she tried hard to escape the hand, her own hands prying at the fingers that were digging her chest plate into her. She heard Keith and Shiro shout in protest, and the last thing she saw before they turned a corner was Shiro – his hands still bound behind his back – standing next to the hurt Lance, and Keith, and both conscious humans were being held back by Allura, her eyes staring back at Pidge’s like they were trying to convey a message that the girl couldn’t understand.

She was taken out of the Castle of Lions, and still she could not escape. The arm was metal, just like Shiro’s prosthetic, and there was no place for her to find a weakness in the metalwork from her position.

If she had to guess, she didn’t even weigh much to the Galra as she was easily toted away towards a ship far to the south of either the Castle or the alien village. She was thrown on board, where robot sentries grabbed her arms and locked them in heavy shackles that covered her from hands to elbows. They were so heavy she fell forward, unable to lift her arms up at all.

“Leave him there, it’s obvious the little thing won’t be able to get away.” Sendak commanded the robots. “And send a message to Lord Zarkon that we have good and bad news.”

The Galra commander had a smirk on his face that annoyed Pidge to no end, but because of the weight of the weird shackles, she could do nothing but sit forward with her legs on either side of her arms and glare at the alien as best she could.

Sendak just laughed and left Pidge where she sat, a couple robotic sentries guarding her from a distance. She felt the ship ascend just her heart sank to her guts. She had hoped Keith or Shiro had tried to follow and save her, even though she would have been worried about them getting hurt like Lance and captured alongside her, but seeing no familiar face – not even her Rover – scared her more than she’d ever care to let on.

A couple minutes later, she indistinctly heard Sendak talking to something with a gravelly voice before suddenly the robots seemed to hear something and lift her up, making her yelp and thrash away from the cold, metallic touch.

“Let go of me, you bag of bolts!” She cried as she was brought into what looked like the bridge of the small ship, where a large screen showed a withered looking Galra man, his eyes shining a horrible glowing purple that didn’t look natural. Without ever seeing the alien before, she knew this was Zarkon.

“We may have failed in capturing the Lions, but we have knocked Voltron down a peg, my Lord.” Sendak said, grabbing Pidge around the middle and hoisting her up like some prize, and her protests grew louder. “I have managed to capture the Green Paladin, which will surely be a severe blow to Voltron.”

Zarkon was quiet for a long time, long enough for Pidge to slowly stop vocally protesting, but she still tried to escape the metal hand that held her captive or move her hands inside the heavy shackles. When she looked up at the screen, she could feel his gleaming eyes stare her down, and for once in her life, she found herself being cowed by the presence of such…animosity.

“Good work, Sendak.” His tone gave no hints as to whether he was really pleased or not with the news. “It would have been more beneficial if we had also taken the Green Lion, but no matter. Voltron will not be able to form until they try to save this child, or if they try to find a replacement.” His head moved a bit upwards, as if now looking at Sendak in the eyes. “As this is the Green Paladin, keep a constant watch on him. They fancy themselves smarter than most, so keep that child in a place where he cannot escape until you are able to hand him over to me.”

Pidge’s blood ran cold.  _ How could Zarkon know what the Green Lion stood for? _ She yelped again when she was moved back to the ground, practically dropped to the floor by Sendak’s feet, much to her displeasure.

“Yes, Lord Zarkon. It will be done.”

“Return quickly, and do not let him escape.” Zarkon commanded.

Sendak’s body went to attention as his organic hand made a fist over his chest – possibly where the Galra heart would be if they had hearts – like he was giving a salute. “Vrepit Sa.”

The screen went black, and without warning the Galra commander kicked Pidge aside, hard in the side. She fell over and curled up in pain. Even with the Paladin armour, the kick had hurt more than any rough housing she and Matt did when she had been a kid.

“Put him in the isolation chamber, and have a constant watch posted outside the room.” Sendak said dismissively, and Pidge felt the robot hands pick her up like she was nothing and take her away.

She tried to keep a mental map of the way from the bridge to wherever the robots were taking her – this isolation chamber, apparently – but there were no real markers she could use to help her memory. Still, she knew there was three rights, and a left, and a few going straight, but she wasn’t sure which order it was when the sentries stopped.

The door was unassuming, with only a slit a fifth of the way down like a way to peer inside the room or let light in. It slipped up with a quiet  _ fwshh _ , like the doors from the Castle of Lions. The inside was dark and small enough that she wouldn’t be able to lay down flat, and Pidge was tossed in without a regard to her well-being.

She landed on her side with a grunt and before she could recover, the door hissed shut, and she was thrust into mostly darkness, the slit the only thing letting in light.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shishiro's art can be found here: http://shiroikumo.tumblr.com/post/173158511332/im-surprised-you-would-choose-such-a-young-girl  
> Tear's art can be found here: https://tear22voltronshipping.tumblr.com/post/173162150966/she-was-scared-oh-so-very-scared-and-the-only


	2. Chapter 2

Allura had holed herself up in her room after they learned Sendak got away with Pidge still in his clutches. Shiro had seen the anger Keith’s expression had towards the Princess, and knew it was affecting her, despite her efforts to look like it wasn’t.

After Sendak had left earshot, Allura then let go of him and Keith. Shiro wasn’t sure if the Galra commander had been bluffing or not about hurting Pidge if they followed, but he was torn between knowing Pidge was alive still and angry he had let down the Holts for letting her get kidnapped.

He should have tried harder. Sure, he couldn’t use his arms since they were tied behind his back, but he could have tried tackling Sendak. He should have done _something_ , but he didn’t and now Matt’s little sister was a prisoner of the Galra like they had been.

Keith ran after the Galra, and Shiro heard him swear and shout in frustration when he saw the ship fly away, blaming Allura for not letting him get to the alien and saving their teammate.

“How could you let him get away with him?!” He shouted into the communication link. “We could have saved him, we could have defeated Sendak and stopped him from ever hurting someone ever again!”

Allura had only responded by telling him to return and help them get Lance into a pod, untying Shiro’s wrists and walking out of the bridge, head ducked low and pace too quick to say she was okay with what happened.

Keith returned long after Lance was taken to the med bay, and Shiro heard that Hunk and Coran successfully got a crystal for the Castle over the comms. They would have to wait before Lance would be healed, but Shiro and Keith kept watch over him, Allura nowhere to be seen. It might have been for the best, because Shiro saw how Keith seemed to have all his anger directed towards her and only her in the way he muttered crossly to himself.

It wasn't entirely fair, but Shiro didn’t think much on it, focusing on the fact they couldn’t go after the Galra commander until the crystal arrived, which would take about half a day.

He and Keith took turns watching Lance. On the turns Keith watched, Shiro ran laps or burned energy in an attempt to distract himself, but the exercise was so monotonous, he couldn’t stop the thoughts as they swirled and spiraled.

_Should have been faster. Should have tried harder. Shouldn’t have gotten caught in the first place. She would be here if you had been able to protect Lance better. Stupid, stupid, didn’t try hard enough._

* * *

 

Finally, Hunk and Coran made it back, having been briefed on the situation on their return trip. Hunk was more torn out of the two, he lost his friend – the only guy who understood him when he talked about scientific stuff – but he also knew the Balmerans needed help to be free of the Galra that have enslaved them.

He helped get the new crystal hooked up to the castle, with Coran’s guidance, before he helped get Lance into a pod so he could heal. Lance’s face was paler than usual from who-knew-what kind of internal injuries the bomb had caused to him.

“How long does he need to stay in there?” He asked Coran, looking at the Altean gibberish script around the pod Lance was in. He wished he could understand the alien language, but it looked more complicated than Russian or Chinese.

“About a quintant. It’ll need to process the damage before it can fully heal him.” Coran explained, guiding the humans out of the med bay. “But once it’s done, he’ll be all right. We should all try to be here when he comes out. It’s a disorienting experience stepping out of a healing pod. I’d imagine it would be a great shock to an alien species like yourself, since you’ve never used ones like these.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Hunk looked at Keith, who had been in the med bay the entire time apparently. “Keith, where’s Shiro and Allura?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere in the Castle I guess.” Keith practically snapped, and Hunk took a step back.

“Woah, dude, I just asked a question.”

Keith didn’t answer but walked off in the opposite direction Coran was herding them to. Hunk wondered what had happened while he and the Altean advisor had been getting the Balmeran crystal.

* * *

 

It took a long time, and time was all Pidge had left to herself for the moment, but she was finally able to move her arms a bit to at least sit a bit more comfortably on the floor, in a place where the light outside hit the dull metal of the shackles perfectly.

If she could find a way out of the shackles, she reasoned, it would be very easy to escape. She had her Paladin armour and helmet, which meant she had her bayard and a way to breathe out in space if she couldn’t find an escape pod. With the little light focused on the shackles, she could see the seams on the one side perfectly. Pidge was actually relieved that her hair was so short, it didn’t fall over her face as she lowered herself as best she could to take everything in.

She had tried using her helmet’s functions the moment the door closed, whispering into the mic but getting nothing but silence. It was either the ship or the cell that was interfering with her communications. With a huff, she moved on to using the binocular-like setting the helmets were equipped with, giving Pidge a better view of every inch that was visible.

While the shackles were very heavy and looked seamless to the blind eye, the young Paladin found the faintest of seams running parallel down, starting from the middle of her arms to where she guessed her curled hands were. It was a bizarre design but as Pidge kept scanning what little she could, she understood the reasons behind it.

“Impressive. It’s like, trying to conform any prisoner’s arms or hands into the shackles, added with the stupid weight to immobilize the weak and hinder the stronger prisoners.” She muttered to herself, taking notes of her discovery. “So it may look huge on me, but on like Shiro or some other Galra or something, it’d be easy to keep them hindered without needing to make different sizes for shackles.”

She didn’t want to acknowledge her own impressed nature over the design and mechanics of such an annoying thing that made it impossible for her to move. But anyone could see the familiar wonder-struck expression, with her lips slightly parted and eyes narrowed ever so slightly to take in all the details she could.

“Okay, so I understand the basic mechanics, now how do I figure out how to take them off?” She blew her bangs out of her face, squinting at the seams as she thought hard.

She got an idea, her head snapping forward, eyes wide and face bright, like a literal lightbulb had been lit above her.

Chapter done!


	3. Chapter 3

The last thing Lance had remembered was the Rover lookalike gliding past him, beeping, and shoving Coran out of the bridge with all his might before what had felt like flames on his backside. He remembered screaming for a single moment at the pain, then inky blackness and quiet that was so deafening Lance didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t remember anything after that. He couldn’t remember when he left the bridge, nor how much time had passed before he found himself in the med bay, on the inside of a cryo-healing pod, facing Hunk, Keith, and Coran. The three looked at him expectantly, though Hunk’s face was more worried than the rest, close to tears.

“Wh-” Lance started, his voice rough like he had been asleep for a while, and he stumbled out of the pod. Coran and Hunk immediately took one shoulder each.

“Careful there, lad. You’re okay.” Coran soothed, reminding him of one of his dad’s brothers. “Sit down on the steps, get your head clear again, c’mon now.”

With the two helping him sit down, Lance blinked like an owl, looking around the med bay.

“Where are the others? What happened?” He asked finally, feeling a thin blanket wrap around his shoulders and the giant warmth that was Hunk sitting beside him.

“You saved Coran from the explosion.” Keith’s words felt weirdly clipped, like they had been the first day in his shack, after saving Shiro.

Lance squinted at the Red Paladin. _Explosion…? Wha-oh._ His eyes went wide immediately, and he turned to look Coran in the eyes. “Are you okay, Coran?”

The alien nodded with a very bright smile. “Course I’m alright. Got knocked out for a bit, but you certainly had the strength to push me far enough away from that blast. I have you to thank for being so selfless, Lance.” His words were sincere, and Lance found himself smiling widely and he nodded.

“What was that explosion, anyway?” He asked.

“It’s, uh, a bit of a long story, buddy. Are you hungry?” Hunk asked suddenly.

At the mention of food, Lance’s stomach rumbled angrily, like he hadn’t eaten in days. He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, starving. Never thought I’d actually want to eat that green goo so badly.”

Keith said nothing, but hovered on the outside as Hunk and Coran helped Lance back on his feet and kept close in case the recently healed Paladin stumbled.

They reached the kitchen to see Shiro sitting alone with a small glob of goo on a plate, but it didn’t look like he had been eating at all. His spork lay untouched beside the plate.

“There you are, Shiro.” Coran said with a tinge of _something_ in his voice that didn’t sound normal, but Lance couldn’t put a finger on the tone. “Look who’s feeling good enough to eat.”

Lance waved, sitting down at one of the seats as Hunk got a moderate glob of slime on a plate and handed it to him.

“It’s good to see you’re well, Lance.” Shiro greeted, sounding distant that made the others look at him curiously.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Lance felt something was off, eyeing the room. “Where’s the Princess and Pidge? You’d think they’d want to see me after my heroic deed.” He cracked a grin, hoping the others just needed to see him act like himself again for them to get back to normal, but it seemed to have the complete opposite reaction.

Keith actually left the room without a word, Shiro visibly froze and looked down, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, and the other two looked uncomfortable.

“Ah, about that.” Hunk started, but it was Coran who spoke next.

“We should start from the beginning.” He said, sitting next to Lance as he spoke in a gentle voice. “Mind you, this is all I’ve been able to gather from the others as Hunk and I had been busy with securing another Balmeran crystal after the Galra had destroyed the one we had.”

He continued, explaining how the explosion had taken out the power for the ship, leaving them defenseless against the Galra as they attacked. Hunk and Coran had left to get another crystal, but the alien made their adventure sound very brief. Hunk seemed to have wanted to interject with something when Coran spoke of how they were able to escape the Galra on the living planet with the help of a rock-alien, but didn’t say it.

Shiro was very quiet as Coran spoke of what happened at the ship. Lance listened as he was told how he was used to capture Shiro, how Pidge was hiding in the Castle and tried to lower the shields so Keith and Allura could get in. He listened as he was told how Pidge fought to free Shiro and himself until a Galra with a huge prosthetic arm kept the kid as a hostage and escaped with him.

“I believe the Princess has locked herself in her room. Keith had made it clear he is displeased with her seemingly allowing Sendak to escape with Pidge.” Coran finished.

Lance lost his appetite. All this happened while he had been unconscious. He felt a pang in his chest, feeling like if he hadn’t been in the bridge, or had been closer to the door with Coran, he would have been okay. He could have helped, and heck, maybe have saved Pidge from being a hostage. Instead, he had been used as a bartering tool against Shiro, and a useless lump of meat that could have easily been killed by the Galra.

He let out a long breath, hands resting on his lap. “So, what now?” He asked.

The Altean alien man looked surprised. “What was that?”

“What do we do now? Do we have a rescue mission planned?”

“Ah, uhm…”

“Not yet. We don’t know where Pidge is being taken.” Hunk answered. “We were waiting for you to wake up. And anyway, Shiro, Keith, and Allura haven’t even been in the same room together since he was taken.”

“What? Why?” Lance looked over at Shiro, confused.

The older man looked tired and shook his head. “Keith blames Allura for Pidge’s capture, and I’m pretty sure the Princess blames herself.”

“All the more reason to start planning a rescue.” Lance said. “There has to be something we can use to find out where Pidge is being taken.”

Chapter done!


	4. Chapter 4

It took several hours and multiple rests before Pidge found a way to loosen the shackles enough to slip them out. When she did, she slumped back, waving her arms to get the blood circulating again. With the weight that kept her down gone, she was able to focus on more important issues, like coming up with a plan to escape.

Pidge didn’t think it would be very hard. After all, the Galra commander thought she was trapped in a cell with no way of escaping the shackles, he wouldn’t check on her even if Zarkon told him to. The brief thought of the leader of the Galra gave the Green Paladin a chill down her spine. She still couldn’t understand how he could have known about what it meant to be the pilot of the Green Lion. There was nothing that could make sense to her, although she had to admit she didn’t have all the pieces to this particular puzzle.

Shaking her thoughts away, she sat back up, looking around the tiny cell. There really wasn’t a lot of room for her to spread out, with the only exit being the door. It would have been impossible for her to open it by herself, but luckily she was still wearing her Paladin armour, which had the weird, almost magical property of materializing her bayard-weapon even if she had dropped it in the Castle.

Putting her hand over the outer part of her thigh, she retrieved her green glowing bayard, and it quickly formed a point. It wasn’t the most effective in cutting holes into metal, but she was sure it would get the job done fast enough to escape the confines.

It didn’t take long, maybe about ten or so minutes, before the outline was thin enough for her to simply kick out, and she made her escape. The robots that stood guard barely even saw her before they were cut apart by her bayard, and Pidge was running down the halls, her heart in her throat. She had to get out before the alarm sounded and she got swarmed. She had to find the escape pods.

Pidge remembered Shiro’s hazy recollection of where the escape pod ships would be. But she knew he didn’t remember everything himself of his own escape, so she was missing some important pieces. But she couldn’t stand still, as the alarm just sounded, and red lights pulsated with the noise.

“No!” She hissed, pressing herself to a wall, panting. All the work she had already done had made her tired.

She pushed off the wall, then, after another turn, she saw them up ahead. A row of rectangular doors with a control panel beside each one were visible at the end of the corridor. Pidge’s heart hammered as relief washed over her and she ran down the hallway, only to jump to the side when she saw a flash and the sound of a laser gun firing behind her.

Twisting her head around, she saw three Galra soldiers aiming their guns at her. Dodging out of the way, she tried to quicken her sprint to the pods, knowing her window was closing drastically.

She reached the nearest pod control panel, and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. “Please, _please_.” She begged the panel, her hands shaking as she heard the metal thumps of approaching soldiers.

Pidge was going to die. She felt it as she turned to see several more soldiers appear from the hallway she had just ran through, all their guns aimed at her. She could count the remaining heartbeats she had left as she steeled herself and readied her bayard. If she was going to die, she was going to go down swinging.

“ _Don’t kill him_ .” A disembodied voice commanded from the ceiling. “ _We still need to give him to Lord Zarkon. Subdue the brat_.”

As soon as the order was given, the soldiers changed tactics, surprising Pidge long enough for them to close the distance before she countered the first blow.

The fight didn’t last long. There were too many for Pidge to fight alone, and one sentry managed to sneak up behind her and get the drop on her. No matter how much she screamed and hurled empty threats, the Galra didn’t listen. They simply brought her down a different cell where some of the same shackles now lay embedded into the floor. They forced her onto her back and chained her down.

“Keep a watch on the enemy.” One of the Galra soldiers commanded the robot sentries. “If he looks like he’s about to escape again, knock him out.”

Pidge glared at the soldiers as they left, leaving her alone with a couple robots who stood facing her, twitching whenever she shifted, but the glare was short-lived. Once she was the only organic creature in the room, the glare twisted as her throat burned and eyes blurred with tears.

Her only chance to escape failed, she didn’t know if the others could find her, and she was truly helpless for the first time in her life. She was scared, oh so very scared, and the only way she felt able to express her fear was in the form of quiet sobs as tears slid back into her hair.

She wondered if she would see her dad or Matt again, since they were also captives along with her. _But…_ She thought suddenly, her sobs fading away for the moment. _I won’t ever see Mom or Bae-Bae again… Or the others…_ Her heart felt heavy and she wondered if this was how Matt felt when he had been taken.

The thoughts lingered and swirled as she closed her eyes on her situation and fell asleep, hoping for some solace in her dreams.

Chapter done!


	5. Chapter 5

“What do you mean, we can’t find him?” Lance asked, arms waving in confusion. “Can’t his suit, I don’t know, be traced or something?”

Allura sighed in a way similar to how his mother did when he and his siblings were being particularly annoying. “It cannot be traced. There is something blocking the signal. This is harder than before. The Galra have upgraded themselves while we have been asleep.”

“If we tried to do it our way, it would take too long.” Coran spoke up.

The crew of the Castle of Lions sat around a table with the Princess and Coran standing at the head, everyone with grim faces. Not that Keith’s face had changed much, he was always grumpy, even before the attack.

Lance sighed loudly, brainstorming aloud. “Do we have any other way to track them? We can’t just leave Pidge with the Galra.” His eyes flit to Shiro’s metal arm without realizing, and he forced himself to look away before anyone noticed.

“You’re right, Lance. This isn’t easy for any of us.” There was a note in Shiro’s tone that was hard to describe but painful all-the-same. “Finding Pidge is priority right now.”

“Yes. We will find him, but I am not completely sure how long that could take. Unless the fates are kind to us, it might take a day or so to even locate Sendak’s ship.” Allura said.

Lance’s heart sank to his stomach with worry. They had to find Pidge fast. He hoped the younger man was okay, wherever he was.

* * *

 

Pidge wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep, but it didn’t feel long enough. She awoke to the sounds of movement in her cell, and for a split second, still half-asleep, she thought the others had caught up to the ship to save her. However, when she opened her eyes, blinking around wildly, she only saw the robot sentries standing still as a Galra soldier knelt by her, undoing the shackles. The helmet blocked most of their face from view, but their mouth was a straight line, giving no clues to Pidge to the alien’s emotions.

As soon as she felt one arm was free, she tried to swing a punch at the soldier. Maybe it was because she was still groggy and confused from sleep or because her hands had been confined for a long time, but the Galra caught it easily, not even reacting to the attempt as they held her down while undoing the rest of the shackles.

They stood up, pulling Pidge up with them, before tossing her to one of the sentries and went out of the cell. The robots fell in place behind them, one holding her firefighter-style over its shoulder no matter how much she struggled.

By now it had been several hours since she had been captured, possibly a day or so, and her throat was starting to scratch. She hadn’t had anything to drink since the party, and that wasn’t a whole lot to begin with, but she was starting to notice some _unfortunate_ things she had to do but was unable to _. Weren’t prisoners supposed to be kept alive if they were going to be used as a hostage?_ She thought as she gave up fighting against the grip. She was going to have to conserve her remaining energy if she was going to make it.

Still, she had to know where she was going, so she struggled to lift her head and look where the robot was taking her. By now she had forgotten to keep track of what they had passed, not that she needed to know how to return to her cell, but she no longer knew where she was on the ship.

_Great…_ She thought glumly, dropping her head back down.

They walked for several minutes in relative silence, outside the sounds of metal feet marching on metal flooring, and the distant sounds of doors closing. The robot carrying Pidge stopped suddenly, making the human whack her head on its back in surprise and she yelped in pain.

She was taken off the robot’s shoulder to stand in between the two sentries as both grabbed an arm each. She instinctively pulled away futilely, her head down low. Pidge hated being unable to figure a way out of her situation herself, it felt like all those months studying and learning to get into the Garrison was a waste of time.

“Ah, there he is.” Sendak’s voice sneered down at her, grabbing her chin with his organic hand and forcing it up. “Rest well, little whelp?”

Pidge jerked her head back with a grimace, but it seemed that was the exact reaction the Galra commander was hoping for, as his sneer grew larger.

“Good to hear, boy. Because I don’t think you’ll have much time to sleep when Lord Zarkon has you in his possession.”

Pidge kept her lips sealed, her jaw clenched, and she knew she was going to start trembling in her attempt to not show any emotions. With every passing second, she was getting farther from home, from the others who she was still only just getting to know, farther from finding her family that had been taken by the same aliens that held her captive. She doubted, because she was a Paladin of Voltron now, that she was going to be like a regular prisoner, not after that one moment she had seen Zarkon.

Just at the thought, a figure shuffled towards them, a heavy looking hooded cloak covering them completely, hiding most of their face. The two Galra bowed their heads respectfully towards the figure, and something about them gave Pidge a chill running down her spine. She already didn’t like this person.

“This is the paladin? A child?” The voice was feminine but also very gravelly and _old_ , but not like how a grandma sounded.

“Yes, this is the Green Paladin. I apologize for being unable to secure the Lions or the Castle.”

“Bah, it’s better than returning empty-handed.” The hooded figure’s mouth was showing a slight smile from what was revealed, the red lines on either cheek running down like a strange tattoo. “I assume Emperor Zarkon had said much the same?”

“He did, witch.” Sendak growled.

“Good. Now, take this little creature to his new holding cell until it is time to meet the Emperor.” The old witch commanded, crooking a finger at Sendak. “Come, Commander Sendak, to give the full report.”

“Oh, Haggar, you should know the child is smart enough to escape an isolation chamber, so constant watch is advised.” The other galra spoke up, keeping their head down as they spoke.

The witch, Haggar, stopped, but didn’t look back. “Restrain him with druid magic. The cell is already being closed off and watched by one of the druids on Emperor Zarkon’s words, but more might be fine.” She continued to walk, and the robot sentries pushed Pidge forward in a different direction.

Chapter done!


	6. Chapter 6

At first things were better than the isolation cell. The new cell was larger, for one thing, and Pidge was able to walk around, and even better, there was a small mattress along one wall, and an odd-looking but functional toilet in another corner.

The only problem was the alien druid thing that was in the cell with her, the weird mask always facing her, and she wasn’t sure if she _really_ needed to go in front of an enemy alien species.

Another plus to the room, at least while it lasted, was she wasn’t held down by anything except some kind of glowing pinkish-purple _energy_ things around her wrists. It felt smoother than glass and light in weight but was neither cool nor warm after prolonged exposure to her warm skin, even through the under-armour gloves she wore. Despite not really looking solid, it was impossible to pull her hands away for longer than a micro-second.

Pidge didn’t try to escape this time. She had to assume the Galra weren’t as stupid as she had hoped, and the language was something she had never seen before, making it hard to translate what she would have had to do to get that pod back on Sendak’s ship to escape. She didn’t have her computers, nor could she use the little bit of computing power her suit had, because that meant using her arms which she wasn’t really able to do.

It frustrated her, not doing something to get out of here, but it was like the Galra were one step ahead of her.

While she was in the middle of spacing out in thought, actual sustenance was brought into the cell. It was this slimy-goop, similar to the green slime back on the Castle of Lions but also somehow different, and what she really hoped was water in a water bottle-type thing. The two were on a gray platter, on a ledge that seemingly appeared out of nowhere on one of the walls.

Pidge eyed the Galra druid carefully before making her way to the food and drink, taking the water-bottle and trying that first. Her throat was so dry, she hadn’t tried to speak since she was moved from one ship to the other, and the thought of quenching her thirst was overwhelming. At first, she took a sip to make sure it was actually water, before gulping a few mouthfuls down, closing her eyes briefly to savour the feelings of cool liquid coating her dry throat.

She had some of the goop next, but she made a face and almost spat it back out. _Yeah, it was definitely different from the stuff in the Castle of Lions._ She thought, sticking her tongue out in distaste. But she was feeling better. She had water, which was the main thing she had been worried about.

Pidge brought the water-bottle with her to the mattress. It was a lumpy thing, made from another planet’s resources she couldn’t identify, but acted like memory foam in some ways, sinking to accommodate her surprisingly well. As she looked back to where the food was, she saw it disappear back into the wall, while the druid never moved an inch. It was becoming very unnerving.

* * *

 

There was a changing of the guards, giving Pidge a hopefully long enough window to use the toilet with feeling embarrassed. Still, it took a while to be able to use it, with her armour and under-armour on, but she was able to get it done, though she had to loosen parts of both, leaving her feeling a bit exposed.

She had started to get the under-armour back in place when the second Galra druid entered, the mask staring right at her. Pidge quickly turned away, ignoring the new druid to focus on getting the chest-piece of her armour back up properly with her hands stuck together by the weird almost magical handcuffs.

By now she wasn’t too sure how long she had been in her new cell. It could have been only a few hours or a several hours, or maybe even a day. Time was feeling endless being trapped in a room with only her thoughts and the statue-like druid with her, with once or twice being given the slime-goop and water. She kept the waters, while only eating a few mouthfuls of the goop; she didn’t think her stomach could take the full amount.

It was very boring in the cell, and Pidge almost fell asleep when she jolted awake by something picking her up. Her instinct was to fight it off, her brain detecting the inhuman strength and lack of breathing before she noted it was one of the robot sentries the Galra seemed very fond of. If she ever escaped from the Galra grasp, she was going to learn everything in her power on how to dismantle these stupid pre-programed bundles of bolts.

The sentry made her stand and pushed her forward, and she realized at that moment the druid was not in their usual place, in fact, the druid wasn’t there at all in the cell, but Pidge didn’t have time to think through that particular thought as she was marched out of the cell.

They walked passed a couple branching paths, and it was a simple route before they reached a dimly lit room. There, she was forced against what looked like a leaning table, her hands held above her head as the pink energy thing stuck to the table. Pidge wriggled against it, face screwed up in annoyance before she drooped, her head hanging.

The sentry had disappeared by then, leaving her seemingly alone in the dark room. She couldn’t make out anything in the gloom, but she could just barely hear a faint wheezing sound coming from somewhere ahead of her.

It didn’t take long before the wheezing was accompanied by footsteps, and suddenly the heavily cloaked witch was standing in front of her, eyes glowing a malevolent goldish-violet under the hood at her, and she felt a chill run down her spine again.

Haggar said nothing for the longest time, simply staring at Pidge for an uncomfortably long time, but when she did speak, Pidge almost wished she had continued to watch her.

“What is your name?” Although it sounded like it was a question, Haggar’s expression made it seem more like an order.

Pidge kept her lips sealed, forming a thin line. But it wasn’t the answer the Galra witch wanted, as a hand extended towards her. She saw a streak of black-purple that lit her up in the most painful way. Every nerve ending throughout her body registered pain that seemed to come from everywhere, even if the sensation lasted only for a couple seconds, or maybe longer. Pidge was pretty sure she had momentarily passed out from the indescribable pain before that same pain went away.

She felt her helmet get taken off, making her wiggle against the bonds once she was fully back to her senses. “What are-”

She was cut off by the appearance of a druid standing next to the witch, their head dipped forward enough that even the mask was looking down. They whispered to the witch, and Pidge saw her lips form a small o.

“You’re certain?” Her voice crackled, and the druid nodded. “Interesting. No wonder the others couldn’t tell. Her scent was masked by the armour.”

Pidge’s head snapped up, feeling like she had been shocked. _How?_

Her face must have shown her disbelief, because it made Haggar chuckle, but she made no comment to her. In fact, she turned away from the Green Paladin and started to walk away.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this, I always wondered if the Galra knew Pidge was a girl, but then, in the first couple episodes Sendak was referring to Pidge as a boy. Sooo, I always wondered afterwards if they would know she's a she.  
> It's a question I don't think will ever be answered but I will constantly wonder for the rest of time.


	7. Chapter 7

Lance rubbed his tired eyes. Not sleeping was interrupting his beauty rest, but whenever he even thought about laying down, his stomach protested, and irrational guilt flooded him. He felt like he couldn’t sleep until they at least found some trace of Pidge.

It was about a day since Lance got out of his healing pod, and about three days since the attack. Three days since Pidge had been kidnapped by some burly Galra with an extendable robotic arm made from the same materials as Shiro’s prosthetic.

“Ugh.” Lance dropped his head onto the table in the dining area. Keith was taking over keeping an eye out for something of the ship that left Arus that could be tracked with Coran – Allura had originally volunteered but Keith had given her a glare so lethal it actually cowed the Princess, surprising even Coran.

Hunk had passed out hours earlier from staying awake for over 48 hours fiddling with the frequencies, hoping to tune into Pidge’s helmet or suit or something, but it didn’t bear any results. As for Shiro and the Princess, Lance had no idea where they went. Not that he really cared at the minute.

His mind was swirling with a lot of different thoughts, and while a good portion was focused on his missing friend, there was a bit that was still reeling from the fact the Castle of Lions was an actual ship that could fly through the universe. They had taken off just around the time Hunk was nodding off, which may be also explained why he actually passed out on the floor rather than dragging himself to a chair or even the sofa if he couldn’t make it to his own assigned bedroom. Because he was so large, none of them could really move him anywhere, so Shiro and Coran found some pillows and blankets so he would at least be a bit more comfortable from his place on the floor.

Closing his eyes, Lance tried to imagine what he could have done to prevent his small friend from getting kidnapped, and one scenario even had him waking up from his coma, grabbing his bayard and blasting the Galra from the back. But none were realistic, because the reality was he had been out cold and heavily injured, and Pidge was who knew how many light-years away as a prisoner of a war none of them had really signed up for.

He thought about the first time he had met the little pipsqueak, and he had thought the kid was off, distracted unless doing schoolwork, or holed up in his room, or trying to get the ire of all the teachers that bad-mouthed the Kerberos Mission. He understood now that it was because the two Holts that had been on the mission with Shiro were related to the kid, but back then he just thought Pidge was a conspiracy theorist and thought that the Garrison had done something to the mission that killed the three.

Lance wondered what would have been his life if Pidge hadn’t been his and Hunk’s techie. The thought was so out there, he was sure Shiro’s rescue wouldn’t have gone as well as it did, because Lance and Hunk wouldn’t have been there with Pidge to see the ship crash down, nor would they have met up with Keith again, or meet Shiro in the flesh, or find the Blue Lion…

Now that he thought about it, Pidge was the reason a lot that happened to them happened, and he couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or not.

Lance sighed, knocking his head lightly against the tabletop, bringing himself back to the present. He was going to help save Pidge. Then they’ll be able to fight this Emperor Zarkon dude and be real heroes to all the galaxies.

As if hearing his thoughts, the speakers echoed through the Castle as Keith’s normally monotone voice hurriedly spoke. “Guys. We have an incoming call. Get to the bridge _now_.”

There was something in his tone that made Lance jump up from his seat, the exhaustion pushed away for the time being. Keith wasn’t one to mess with anyone – mostly because Lance wasn’t sure he even understood what it meant to mess with someone in a funny way – so whatever this message was going to be, it had to be really important to make everyone gather at the bridge.

He was the last to get there, though technically the second-to-last person to be conscious on the bridge – Hunk was being shaken awake by Shiro. Lance glanced around the room, noticing the mood in the air. It was tense and confused, which matched everyone’s face expressions.

“What’s the message?” He asked, drawing all five pairs of eyes to him before four pairs changed to look over at Keith.

“I-” Keith started when suddenly a holo-screen jumped into being, similar to the last time a Galra had found them.

In front of them was a wizened Galra with no visible expressions on his face outside a detached satisfied smile that didn’t move any other part of his face besides his lips. His eyes had no pupils or irises, simply a solid purple that glowed palely, and they were somewhat hidden by some weird helmet.

Allura gasped quietly, and when Lance looked over at her, he saw her jaw was slack, eyes wide, and skin pale, but then she caught herself and a cold steely expression took over everything but the paled skin.

“Zarkon.” She growled.

“So the rumours are true? I was unable to dispose of all the Alteans.” Zarkon’s voice sounded horrible, but there was a hint of manic glee to his tone.

“What do you want?” Princess Allura demanded, a calm sort of fury behind her words.

“I had imagined you’d want to see how your missing Paladin was doing.” The smile had never left his disturbing face, and it simply grew as Lance and the others reacted to his words, his eyes moving to look off-screen. “Bring her here.”

Things seemed to simultaneously slow down and speed up after those words were spoken. Lance frowned, thinking he had misheard the dictator of an alien empire.

Then Pidge came within view of whatever the Galra were using as a camera, and he looked awful. His hair was a mess, his eyes red-rimmed and blotchy, hiding the golden-amber irises.

“I’m surprised you would choose such a young girl to pilot the most complex Lion. But it matters not, unless you wish to see the child dead by your hands.” Zarkon continued.

Allura’s voice shook for a moment before growing steely again. “What. Do. You. Want?” She ground out, as if hearing their enemy call Pidge a girl wasn’t an issue.

Lance wanted to shout in confusion. _How could someone mistake Pidge for a girl? What the heck?_ But he kept his mouth shut and his eyes trained only on Pidge.

He was so focused on Pidge he hadn’t listened to the exchange between the others and Zarkon and jolted when he realized Pidge was looking at him with a similar intensity. The camera didn’t show anything lower than her nose, but the expression in her eyes seemed to be trying to tell him something. Asking him something, but Lance couldn’t figure it out before she was pushed roughly aside seconds before the screen disappeared.

“Track that transmission!” Allura commanded.

“Already on it.” Hunk called, wires in his hands and not where he had been when he had woken up.

Lance stood there, speechless, his expression one of complete confusion. _What just happened?_

“-nce. Lance!” Shiro called, suddenly appearing in front of him with a concerned look. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

“Why did he call Pidge a girl?” He hadn’t meant to ask that, he meant to ask what was going on first, but the words slipped out before he could think.

Everyone but Hunk stopped moving about the bridge to give Lance a look like he had said a dumb question, although at least Shiro and Coran looked more sympathetic.

“You never realized Pidge was a girl?” Keith asked, his tone edging on condescending, making Lance bristle angrily.

“No, how was I supposed to know?”

“Weren’t you friends with Pidge for _months_? How did you never-” Keith cut himself off with a shake of his head, as if saying it was a waste of time.

Lance clenched his teeth and turned around to the door. The others called out to him to know what he was doing, but he ignored them all as he stalked out of the bridge, heading nowhere in particular.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing the last part of this scene was hard because I had no idea how to realistically write Lance's reaction. In the show it was comical, but I couldn't exactly make it comical when Pidge is held captive ^^;;


	8. Chapter 8

It turns out, walking with nowhere in mind brings Lance to some particular places. He passed the bedrooms, idly realizing how far Pidge’s room was to everyone else’s. He knew she always liked her privacy and never really tried prying into her life seeing how angry she would get at Hunk for snooping.

He didn’t linger long down these hallways, and before he knew it, he was in what he had to assume was the Green Lion’s hangar. The Lion was sitting the same way Blue did when they all first saw the robotic thing, although there wasn’t a shield barrier around it.

Even though they hadn’t been in the Castle for long, Lance could see the beginnings of Pidge’s influence around the room. There was a pile along one wall that was shaped similar to a nest almost, and a bag at the front of it, laying on its side like Pidge had slung it off in a hurry.

Curious, Lance approached the bag, finding Pidge’s shirt peeking out of it. He was surprised to see it here rather than in her room, and taking a closer look – it wasn’t like Pidge could stop him now anyway – he saw it was full of the stuff Pidge left Earth with, which wasn’t a lot to begin with, but still surprising. _Why wasn’t this stuff just in Pidge’s room rather than in her room?_ He wondered, straightening up and looking over at the slimly built Lion that still towered over him despite being smaller than his own Lion.

Lance stayed in the hangar for a while, simply gazing up at the Green Lion’s face, as if the mystical robotic beast could give him answers he didn’t know the questions to.

* * *

 

Pidge sat on the lumpy mattress, her legs drawn up with enough room to bury her face and rest her arms over her head, one hand gripping her hair slightly. She was still trying to figure out what just happened with the transmission.

Zarkon had obviously wanted to gloat at the others. When he taunted them, she saw Lance’s expression become confused. She almost wanted to apologize to him for not telling them sooner, but she couldn’t speak with Haggar off-camera close by, her hands crackling with energy as if waiting for Pidge to open her mouth. Instead she tried to communicate telepathically with Lance. She wasn’t sure he understood what was going on, but she didn’t get long before she was pushed away, and immediately she was on her way back to her cell.

And so, here she was, curled in a corner, her helmet on one edge of the mattress next to the waters she’s been keeping close by. She had been like this for a while, long enough to actually fall asleep for a bit, waking up on her side with her arms tangled uncomfortably above her head.

With a groan, Pidge sat back up, feeling achy everywhere from the uncomfortable position and the armour she still wore. A small part of her mind idly wondered if she was going to be forced into prisoner garb like Shiro had been after being captured the first time with her brother and father, but the thought fled as quickly as it had appeared, distracted by the follow-up questions. _Would she be able to meet with Matt or her father? Would she be able to escape like Shiro had? What’s going to happen to her?_

_What’s going to happen to me?_ That thought stuck around, and it frustrated her. She hated not knowing what to do, not being _able_ to know what she should do. As cliché as it was, she felt like one of those stereotypical princesses from old video games, the ones who always needed to be rescued by some guy who everyone assumed was the love interest.

_So I’m some weak princess that needs to be saved by Lance and them…_ She thought glumly, before the melancholy turned quickly into anger. _If only I had had a bit more time, or if I was able to understand the stupid language a bit quicker, I could have escaped by myself. I wouldn’t need help if I was better._

Pidge let out a growl, shaking her head as if the thoughts would scatter physically. Thinking was getting her nowhere, even if it was the only thing she had left. Her mobility was reduced to the confines of the cell, and her hands were bound together by the weird glowing plastic-looking energy-feeling material that was practically impossible to escape from. She still couldn’t find a weak-spot against the cuffs.

The upside to the bad stacked on her, was her privacy was a little better now. She no longer had those druids in her cell staring at her at all hours, but she felt something was different about the room that meant she wasn’t totally out of sight. She had a feeling there was surveillance hidden around her cell so she wouldn’t be able to escape like she had on Sendak’s ship.

Pidge stood up, stretching her legs a bit. She paced the perimeter of her cell room several times, just to give her something to do that didn’t involve moping on a lumpy mattress in a corner being either angry at herself or pitying herself for the position she was in.

Around the tenth or so lap, the door opened behind her, and metallic hands wrapped around her slim forearms, pulling her backwards. Pidge barely got a shout out before she was dragged out of her cell, unable to get her feet under her to walk.

She craned her neck as she struggled against the robotic sentries, trying to figure out where they were taking her, but this ship was massive compared to Sendak’s ships, and she had no bearings of where anything was or would be.

After several turns, Pidge was brought into a relatively small room and forced onto her knees, her head held down to stare at the floor in front of her. She struggled against the pressure, but the grip holding down her head was painful, and she became worried they would snap her neck if she continued to fight it.

There was silence for a long time. Pidge couldn’t tell if the passage of time was moving slowly or speeding by, but her muscles were beginning to cramp when footsteps approached.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always liked the idea of Pidge creating a little nest of her things in the Green Lion's hangar, mostly cuz I do that whenever I'm doing work. I spread things out around me until I've made a nest, hehe ^.^


	9. Chapter 9

Haggar stood in front of Pidge. She could tell by the flowing cloak the witch wore: it was different from the other druids’ cloaks from what she could tell, more elaborate with a faint gold trim instead of pale purple. Finally, the hand holding her head down moved away, allowing her to look up.

She glared at the witch, who had a smug little smile on her own face. From the angle Pidge was at, she saw more of the alien woman’s face. Symmetrical red markings outlined part of her cheekbones and the bottom of her eyelids. For the briefest moment, Pidge thought if the markings were smaller, they would look Altean, but the thought didn’t linger when Haggar took another step closer.

“Such defiance.” Her voice sounded so old and gravelly, it grated against Pidge’s ears. “A weak little thing like you, and you think you and those other foolish creatures can destroy everything Emperor Zarkon has achieved in his ten-thousand-year reign over the universe?”

Pidge didn’t answer, her eyes narrowed into slits and her lips curled in a form of a snarl.

Haggar croaked out a chuckle, starting to circle the prisoner as she continued to talk. “You would make a fine subject. Only a wavering hint of fear, masked by anger and pointless defiance. Yes, you’ll work wonderfully.” When she smiled, Pidge was surprised her mouth wasn’t full of sharp, shark-like fangs. It still sent a chill down her spine.

Haggar reached out and grabbed a fistful of Pidge’s hair, and suddenly there was a rush of wind that gathered around the two of them. It felt invasive in an extremely personal way, like she was being stripped away by _something._

The experience lasted several minutes, with Pidge struggling against something she couldn’t see or understand. By the end of it, she was shaking, her eyes wide, dazed and frantically searching, her heart racing.

“Interesting…” Haggar murmured, stepping away with her lips quirked upwards. “Take her back to her cell. We’ll begin later.”

Pidge didn’t protest, nor did she fight against the sentries. In fact, she barely felt or saw anything on her way back to her cell. The inner walls of the cell were becoming a familiar sight for her. She was dropped a little way in the room before the door was shut again, but she didn’t get up. Her hands simply went up to her face, trembling slightly. The things that frightened her were her inability to understand what just happened, and the fear that she didn’t _want_ to understand what she had just experienced with the witch.

She laid on her side on the floor for a while, focusing on her breathing, when the lights went red and the distant sound of an alien klaxon blared for the entire ship to hear.

**one hour earlier**

Lance was fidgeting in Blue, which made the giant robotic Lion fidget its feet, as if they were pacing from side to side instead of floating in the middle of deep space.

They were approaching the source of the signal, and Lance was itching to fight to save his teammate. The group had a plan all set up to rescue Pidge and had been going over it several times during their travelling.

Lance and the other Paladins would be in their Lions and he would be sticking with Shiro to save Pidge. Allura and Coran were going to stay in the Castle of Lions, far enough away from the mothership that they won’t be detected, providing an escape once they saved Pidge. The others would approach in their Lions, Hunk and Keith as distractions so Lance and Shiro could infiltrate and find and save Pidge. Everyone agreed they weren’t ready for a  showdown with Zarkon, so they just had to escape. It was by no means a simple mission, and there were many places for mistakes to be made.

Lance had fought to go with Shiro to save Pidge instead of being part of the distraction team, and then again when Hunk argued he should go with them since Pidge was his friend too. In the end, they compromised with constant communications between rescue and diversion. Under no circumstances must either team turn off their comm units.

“Would you stop that.” Keith barked over said units, the red Lion glaring at him and Blue. “Focus on the mission and you can stop wasting time worrying.”

“Shut up, mullet.” Lance snapped, steadying Blue to fly close to Hunk and Yellow.

“It’s not a-ughh, you’re impossible.” Keith grouched, flying his Lion close to Shiro’s. “Shiro? Time yet?”

“Almost. You’ll have to hit hard and fast, and then we’ll have to hurry to get close to the ship and find Pidge.” Shiro said. “Remember, we aren’t here to fight. Keith, you and Hunk are distracting the Galra, defend each other and don’t let the other get too swarmed. Lance, you’re with me, so we have to be fast. Allura and Coran will help with what they can, but they are essentially our escape route.” Shiro inhaled slowly, and they could hear him exhale softly. “Everyone ready?”

There was a small chorus of affirmations, and Shiro led the way around the moon.

“Good luck.” Allura and Coran said, their faces showing up briefly on the screen before blinking out to allow the Paladins to focus.

Keith and Hunk split from Lance and Shiro quickly, drawing any attention away from the two as they attack some of the perimeter Galra ships. Lance watched for a bit, noticing how natural Keith was behind the controls of the Red Lion, dodging and flying expertly around the attacks, while Hunk… was acceptable in current circumstances. He was still clumsy in moving his Lion around, but at least he no longer sounded like he was going to be sick when he banked a hard turn or flipped sideways or upside-down. If the situation wasn’t so dire, Lance would have found it funny how far Hunk had gotten from being weak in the stomach to being a decent fighter pilot.

“Lance, let’s go.” Shiro’s voice brought him back to the present, and the two flew in low and fast. While they had been flying, they had found where Pidge’s general location was based on thermal readings.

While they flew, Hunk and Keith called positions to one another – well, Hunk was shouting them with a bit of anxiety behind his words – as Lance stopped Blue a couple feet from the ship, getting ready to breach when Keith called a warning.

“Shiro watch out! Some caught sight of your tail!”

Lance saw Shiro bank hard away from Blue, dispatching the fighters easily. “Shiro?” He called.

“Change of plan. I’ve been spotted, you haven’t. Get in and get Pidge.” Shiro ordered, and the authority in his voice prompted Lance to listen to him.

He scrambled out of his chair and headed out of Blue, grabbing his bayard to make a hole large enough for two people to easily slip through, and headed in.

Chapter done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is near.


	10. Chapter 10

Pidge grabbed her helmet. She had a feeling a rescue attempt was being made and she wanted to be ready. She struggled to put it on properly with her hands bound together, but when she did, there was a burst of static before she heard voices. She was back within range!

“There are two on your left, Keith.” Shiro’s voice was the first she could hear clearly, followed by loud noises that sounded like movement.

“Guys? Guys!” She cried from her cell, disregarding everything that had happened in favour of reaching out for the others.

“Pidge!” Lance’s voice made her jump at how loud he was. “Pidge, I’m on my way to you. Do you know where you are?”

She shook her head. “No, not really. I’ve been stuck in one place the entire time. Can you track me with the comms?”

“Yes, they should be able to.” Coran’s voice sounded far away, like they were coming from the others’ speakers or something.

It was a rare feeling for Pidge’s chest to swell at the sound of strangers’ voices, but hearing Coran speak brought a soft smile to her face.

“Hurry, Lance. We don’t know how long we have until the Galra catch on to us and figure out you’re on the ship.” Shiro warned, a grunt sound coming from him at the last syllable.

“What’s going on? How did you find me?” Pidge asked as she paced her cell. She wasn’t about to wait patiently on the lumpy mattress for Lance to get to her.

“We’ll fill you in when Lance gets you out of there!” Hunk cried, sounding frantic with whatever he was doing.

“Lance, are you close to Pidge?” Shiro asked, his tone strained.

“Uhhh.” Lance’s voice trailed off as Pidge heard firing from both outside her cell and through the comms.

“Lance!” Pidge cried, running to the door where she could hear the firefight, her bound hands in fists against the metal, pounding against it but unable to see through.

“I’m coming, Pidge.”

She felt like an eternity had passed, when it must have only been around five minutes, listening to the sounds of energy guns firing at one another and the other Paladins yelling at one another of incoming fighters and Lance’s breathing, and it was absolute torture compared to the days she’d been kept prisoner. Her brows were lined with worry, but her eyes were filled with hope.

When the last shot sounded, she found herself holding her breath, listening hard over the sounds of Keith, Hunk, and Shiro talking over one another for the steady breathing of the Blue Paladin when the door slipped open suddenly and she was falling forward.

“I got you.” Armoured arms wrapped around her waist before she could fully pitch forward, pulling her close to an armoured chest with her sight filled with the blue V of Lance’s Paladin armour. “I got you, Pidge.”

Pidge wanted to stay like this for just a _second_ longer, enveloped by the older teen’s arms. Of course it _had_ to be Lance to save her, to be the first person she sees since getting captured. She wished for a closer embrace without their armour when Shiro ruined the moment.

“You have her?” He asked. “Get out of there now.”

Lance tightened his grip on Pidge’s waist and picked her up without a word.

“Hey!” She protested, wriggling against the grasp. “I can run on my own! Let me down!”

“No, hold onto me. Your shrimpy legs would make you lag behind.” Lance replied, his tone suggesting he was smirking.

Pidge went limp and pouted, muttering curses at the tall teen. All he did was chuckle and started to run. She watched their backs and saw several robotic corpses of Galra sentries in their wake, blasted holes through their metallic bodies. Pidge was almost impressed by how well Lance did taking out the enemy by himself.

The others continued issuing warnings to one another and Shiro asking if Lance and Pidge had made it out yet or not. Lance never responded to the questions, seemingly focused on running and getting to some rendezvous place or something, leaving Pidge to answer as best she could without knowing where they were going.

Finally, Lance stopped, lowering Pidge to stand on her own as they reached a random hallway.

“Does your jetpack still work? It looks busted.” Lance asked, hand pressing against Pidge’s back where a missing jet thruster used to be. She had almost forgotten about that.

“I don’t have a lot of thrust left, maybe enough for a takeoff.” She replied, looking around before she found a hole in the ceiling where a small glint of the Blue Lion was just barely visible.

“Good, c’mon.” Lance wrapped a hand around Pidge’s hands, holding her close to him as they blasted off together.

Pidge barely made it to the hole when her remaining thruster sputtered out, but Lance held her up.  His head was through the hole when a bolt of unnatural lightning streaked towards them.

“Lance!” Pidge barely got his name out when it hit them. Lance yelled in pain, his hand releasing Pidge and she fell. She scrambled to grab something before hooking her bound wrists around his feet. It was an awkward hold but she wouldn’t make it out if she tried to adjust her grip and risk losing it completely.

“Get them! Don’t let them escape!” Haggar’s voice shouted from below them as guns were aimed at them.

“Hurry up Lance! Get us out of here!” Pidge pleaded. Lance’s chest was out the hole, his hands reaching over the edge to grab something. His legs swung dangerously, making Pidge hold on tighter, afraid of falling into Galra clutches again.

Guns fired around her, and she prayed none of them would hit her or Lance or else it was all over.

Lance hastily shuffled himself up out of the hole, trying not to lose Pidge as shots fired at them. With most of his body out of the hole he’d blasted open before, he reached down to grab at Pidge and pull her up.

He grabbed her and started pulling, using his long legs as protection as best he could. Pidge’s head poked out of the hole and he hoisted her up as a shot landed on his leg, pushing them off the ship completely. He let out a pained shout, releasing her with one hand to grab at his leg.

Pidge’s eyes went wide at the shout, looking everywhere before she saw one leg heavily blasted. They had to get out of there, and now. She lifted her hands up to wrap her arms around Lance’s neck, looking into his face through their helmets.

“Lance, come on, we have to go. We’re almost to your Lion.” She tried to keep the panic from her voice as another streak of lightning arced past them.

Lance nodded, his face scrunched up in pain. The blast must have hit him harder than she thought it had at a glance, but she couldn’t focus on that yet. They had to reach the Blue Lion before she could allow herself to focus on injuries either of them had sustained.

They flew to the Lion that waited patiently for them, opening its mouth as they approached and closing around them. Pidge’s body melted in relief, sagging against Lance since she now couldn’t unhook her arms around him until he went down on one knee.

She helped him into the cockpit awkwardly with her hands still bound, but neither did anything to free her just yet. Lance needed help walking, his leg feeling swollen against the armour and they both feared it wasn’t good.

“I got her.” Lance spoke through gritted teeth. “Almost lost her but we’re getting out of here.”

“Good job, Lance!” Hunk cried.

“Hurry to the Castle of Lions, we’ll provide support.” Keith said.

“Are you both okay?” Shiro asked.

“Lance got shot at, but he’s conscious?” Pidge wasn’t good with medical science, so she wasn’t sure how ‘okay’ Lance was at a glance.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, this is nothing compared to that bomb.” Lance laughed, but only Pidge could see his body wince in pain that showed what his words did not.

Pidge pulled off her helmet as Lance got the Blue Lion to fly, looking around as stars zipped by but her eyes kept landing on the one who saved her. He had taken his helmet off several minutes ago, almost as soon as they got into the cockpit, and Pidge could see the intense look on his face. His jaw was set, eyebrows furrowed and eyes not looking anywhere but forward.

The Castle of Lions was within sight, and over the comms both Paladins could hear the aliens and the other Paladins talk over one another as they got closer. Something about the situation tugged at Pidge and she looped her arms around Lance’s neck against, hugging him awkwardly but genuinely.

“Thank you.” She whispered, the sound not even registering to the others.

“Always, Pidge.” Lance replied just as quietly. Their heads were touching, and then Lance turned, and his lips briefly met hers. But a moment was all they needed.

Pidge pulled back immediately, her face aflame, but she didn’t unloop her arms from Lance’s neck. She couldn’t look him in the eyes, instead noticing how his hair curled on his forehead in a way she never noticed before.

“We’re going to have to talk when this has all calmed down.” Lance sounded like he was breathless, and it only made Pidge redder, a pout on her face.

They made it to the Castle, and soon after they had landed the others were drawing in. Pidge heard Allura say she was preparing a gate before she felt the sensation of warping through a wormhole. Her heart pounded, like it was trying to escape her chest with adrenaline.

Lance needed help getting out of Blue and she lent her shoulder to take some of his weight off his injured leg as they headed for the med bay. They met with Coran halfway there and he took over supporting Lance for the rest of the walk.

“The armour doesn’t look too blasted, so I’d say we won’t find a hole.” He chuckled weakly as he and Pidge helped Lance to sit on the steps in the med bay. “I don’t think we’ll have to use a pod either. Theses sorts of injuries heal up in a jiffy.”

“Thanks Coran.” Lance winced when he moved his leg, gesturing at Pidge at the same time. “Think you can also get those things off her?”

Pidge had almost forgotten about her cuffs despite the awkward position it put her arms in. Coran went off to one wall of the bay, allowing her to sit down next to Lance. Purely to keep an eye on him, not to lean against his side or anything. Lance shifted again to accommodate her. When Coran returned, he either didn’t comment on their position, or didn’t notice their proximity, but she was grateful for him not talking about it.

He used a medical knife - it wasn’t like any scalpel she had seen on Earth except its size and the fact it was in the medical bay - to slice through the weird energy cuffs until she was free to separate her hands from another. She stretched them wide, feeling her joints pop into what felt like a better position with a sigh of relief.

When Coran moved on to help Lance, the other Paladins and Princess Allura flooded into the room, all but Keith verbally expressing relief to seeing Pidge back.

Hunk picked her up and hugged her tightly with tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you got taken! You’re okay, though, right?”

“I’m, I’m fine, Hunk. Crushing me…!” She tapped on his sides until he loosened the strong hug, allowing her to slip away. It would have been a nice bear-hug if not for the armour they both still wore.

“You sure you’re okay, Pidge?” Shiro asked, his eyes going from Pidge to Lance, who watched, now in his under-armour and his leg exposed, while Coran did something to it, spraying it with something.

“Yeah. I, I think so. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t saved me.”

“Well, you don’t have to think of that possibility now.” Allura smiled at her. “You’re safe now.”

Pidge looked at everyone’s faces, watching their expressions. Keith’s face was still guarded but there was a smile quirking his lips up and his stance wasn’t as tense as before the capture had been. Her eyes lingered on Lance’s face, how even though he was in pain, he was smiling at her with that warm, happy expression that made butterflies appear in her gut.

“Yeah.” She murmured quietly. “I’m safe now.”

Story Done!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of fun to write, tbh. And seriously, I love my beta and my artists so much. Hawkeye helped make this story better because I make so many mistakes when writing and never notice them >.> And Tear and Shishiro's art pieces are so beautiful I cry :')


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